Physics of Solar System Plasmas provides a comprehensive introduction to the plasma physics and magnetohydrodynamics that are needed to study the solar wind and magnetosphere. The text includes a broad introduction to plasma physics, including important discussions of kinetic theory, single particle motion, magnetohydrodynamics, geomagnetically trapped energetic particles and the physics of magnetic reconnection. This leads into a thorough description of the Sun and the solar wind, and, finally, the author addresses magnetospheric physics. Among the topics covered here are magnetospheric morphology, bow shocks, magnetospheric convection and electrical currents, substorms, ionospheric physics, magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling, auroral physics and the interaction of the solar wind with the planets. Problem sets at the end of each chapter make this a useful text for advanced undergraduate students in astrophysics, geophysics, or atmospheric sciences. Graduate students and researchers will also find it a valuable source of information.

Physics of Solar System Plasmas provides a comprehensive introduction to the plasma physics and magnetohydrodynamics that are needed to study the solar wind and magnetosphere. The text includes a broad introduction to plasma physics, including important discussions of kinetic theory, single particle motion, magnetohydrodynamics, geomagnetically trapped energetic particles and the physics of magnetic reconnection. This leads into a thorough description of the Sun and the solar wind, and, finally, the author addresses magnetospheric physics. Among the topics covered here are magnetospheric morphology, bow shocks, magnetospheric convection and electrical currents, substorms, ionospheric physics, magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling, auroral physics and the interaction of the solar wind with the planets. Problem sets at the end of each chapter make this a useful text for advanced undergraduate students in astrophysics, geophysics, or atmospheric sciences. Graduate students and researchers will also find it a valuable source of information.

Observations and physical concepts are interwoven to give basic explanations of phenomena and also show the limitations in these explanations and identify some fundamental questions. Compared to conventional plasma physics textbooks this book focuses on the concepts relevant in the large-scale space plasmas. It combines basic concepts with current research and new observations in interplanetary space and in the magnetospheres. Graduate students and young researchers starting to work in this special field of science, will find the numerous references to review articles as well as important original papers helpful to orientate themselves in the literature. Emphasis is on energetic particles and their interaction with the plasma as examples for non-thermal phenomena, shocks and their role in particle acceleration as examples for non-linear phenomena. This second edition has been updated and extended. Improvements include: the use of SI units; addition of recent results from SOHO and Ulysses; improved treatment of the magnetosphere as a dynamic phenomenon; text restructured to provide a closer coupling between basic physical concepts and observed complex phenomena.

Space plasma is so hot that the atoms break up into charged particles which then become trapped and stored in magnetic fields. When critical conditions are reached the magnetic field breaks up, releasing a large amount of energy and causing dramatic phenomena. The largest space plasma activity events observed in the solar system occur on the Sun, when coronal mass ejections expel several billion tons of plasma mass into space. This book provides a coherent and detailed treatment of the physical background of large plasma eruptions in space. It provides the background necessary for dealing with space plasma activity, and allows the reader to reach a deeper understanding of this fascinating natural event. The book employs both fluid and kinetic models, and discusses the applications to magnetospheric and solar activity. This will form an interesting reference for graduate students and academic researchers in the fields of astrophysics and plasma physics.

In 2010, NASA and the National Science Foundation asked the National Research Council to assemble a committee of experts to develop an integrated national strategy that would guide agency investments in solar and space physics for the years 2013-2022. That strategy, the result of nearly 2 years of effort by the survey committee, which worked with more than 100 scientists and engineers on eight supporting study panels, is presented in the 2013 publication, Solar and Space Physics: A Science for a Technological Society. This booklet, designed to be accessible to a broader audience of policymakers and the interested public, summarizes the content of that report.